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Strake runners win in Bellaire; area teams fare well
By MIKE TENNEY
The Strake Jesuit boys split squad cross country team scored 46 points to take first place Saturday morning at the Bellaire Invitational at Bear Creek Park.
The Crusaders, who are the two-time Region III-5A champions, had their A team at the Round Rock Invitational at the same time as the Bellaire meet.
Meanwhile, Strake Jesuit head coach Michael Kerley divided his runners to give as many as possible the chance to compete, because the storm canceled a couple of their meets.
“We (wanted) to run at the Bellaire Invitational, because it’s a quality meet, and it’s a chance for our kids to do very well,” said Kerley. “We also (wanted) to run a team in Round Rock because it’s one of the best meets in the state, and they hold it on the same course as the state meet (at Old Settlers Park).
“If we’re fortunate enough to do well at regionals again this year, then we’ll run on that course at the state meet, and I want my guys to have some familiarity with that course.”
Strake Jesuit was fueled by having three runners in the top nine at Bellaire. Doug Patson (17:11) and James Collins (17:14) were fifth and sixth, respectively, and Julian Vela (17:21) was ninth, giving the squad three runners that combined for just 20 points when those collective places were added together.
“The fact that they could win our meet when they’ve got their A team running in Round Rock, shows you what kind of depth Strake has,” said Bellaire head coach Brett Hervat. “But we’re very happy to have them at our meet. They’re what everybody wants to be right now.
“They’re the regional champions. So we’re always very happy to have them at our meet. And we go to their meet in a couple of weeks, so we’re looking forward to that. It’s always a great challenge to run against them.”
The race for second at Bellaire was a tight one with the Cardinals taking that spot with 99 points, while Lamar was right behind them with 103 for third. Westfield was fourth with 114 and Fort Bend Austin took fifth place with 118. In all, at least 29 schools were represented.
“It was a wonderful meet,” said Hervat. “We had good weather. We had good (running) times. We had a good turnout. It was a competitive field. We had no real mishaps or controversy. It was a fast course. We felt like it was just a wonderful meet and it went off without a hitch.”
And he liked his team’s effort.
“I thought we ran well,” he said. “Now Lamar didn’t have their best runner (Blake Necum) going so that makes things a little different, but (we) still always like to beat them. Mickey ran a very good race. (Amanuel) Belay ran a strong race with a 17:38, and we had three guys in the mid-18s. I’ll take that right now, so I was very pleased with how we did.”
Lamar’s Mareo Talamies (16:38) won the boys three-mile race, and Bellaire senior Mickey Cuarezma (16:53) was right behind him for second place.
After Cuarezma and Belay for Bellaire, Dylan Cox (18:10) was third and 22nd overall, while Phillip Davis (18:17) was fourth and 25th in the field. Freshman Layne Schmerin (18:53) completed the scoring for the home team by placing fifth and 37th among the field of just less than 100 runners.
For Lamar, the Redskins had all five of their boys place among the top 33 runners. After Talamies’ gold medal showing, Aaron O’Connor (17:50) was their second runner and he came in 16th. Kendrick Aldridge (18:07) was third and officially in 21st place. Nick Housen (18:30) came in fourth for Lamar and 31st overall, while teammate Albert Rodriguez (18:42) was close to him, just two spots back in 33rd.
The Katy A team won the girls meet with 35 points. St. Agnes was second with 79.
Lamar placed fourth in the team standings with 167 points and Redskin runner Bria Guerin (12:44) won the girls two-mile race.
The Bellaire girls were ninth with 309 points. Chloe Nguyen (15:03) was the Cards top runner, finishing in 43rd place.
The Crusaders, who are the two-time Region III-5A champions, had their A team at the Round Rock Invitational at the same time as the Bellaire meet.
Meanwhile, Strake Jesuit head coach Michael Kerley divided his runners to give as many as possible the chance to compete, because the storm canceled a couple of their meets.
“We (wanted) to run at the Bellaire Invitational, because it’s a quality meet, and it’s a chance for our kids to do very well,” said Kerley. “We also (wanted) to run a team in Round Rock because it’s one of the best meets in the state, and they hold it on the same course as the state meet (at Old Settlers Park).
“If we’re fortunate enough to do well at regionals again this year, then we’ll run on that course at the state meet, and I want my guys to have some familiarity with that course.”
Strake Jesuit was fueled by having three runners in the top nine at Bellaire. Doug Patson (17:11) and James Collins (17:14) were fifth and sixth, respectively, and Julian Vela (17:21) was ninth, giving the squad three runners that combined for just 20 points when those collective places were added together.
“The fact that they could win our meet when they’ve got their A team running in Round Rock, shows you what kind of depth Strake has,” said Bellaire head coach Brett Hervat. “But we’re very happy to have them at our meet. They’re what everybody wants to be right now.
“They’re the regional champions. So we’re always very happy to have them at our meet. And we go to their meet in a couple of weeks, so we’re looking forward to that. It’s always a great challenge to run against them.”
The race for second at Bellaire was a tight one with the Cardinals taking that spot with 99 points, while Lamar was right behind them with 103 for third. Westfield was fourth with 114 and Fort Bend Austin took fifth place with 118. In all, at least 29 schools were represented.
“It was a wonderful meet,” said Hervat. “We had good weather. We had good (running) times. We had a good turnout. It was a competitive field. We had no real mishaps or controversy. It was a fast course. We felt like it was just a wonderful meet and it went off without a hitch.”
And he liked his team’s effort.
“I thought we ran well,” he said. “Now Lamar didn’t have their best runner (Blake Necum) going so that makes things a little different, but (we) still always like to beat them. Mickey ran a very good race. (Amanuel) Belay ran a strong race with a 17:38, and we had three guys in the mid-18s. I’ll take that right now, so I was very pleased with how we did.”
Lamar’s Mareo Talamies (16:38) won the boys three-mile race, and Bellaire senior Mickey Cuarezma (16:53) was right behind him for second place.
After Cuarezma and Belay for Bellaire, Dylan Cox (18:10) was third and 22nd overall, while Phillip Davis (18:17) was fourth and 25th in the field. Freshman Layne Schmerin (18:53) completed the scoring for the home team by placing fifth and 37th among the field of just less than 100 runners.
For Lamar, the Redskins had all five of their boys place among the top 33 runners. After Talamies’ gold medal showing, Aaron O’Connor (17:50) was their second runner and he came in 16th. Kendrick Aldridge (18:07) was third and officially in 21st place. Nick Housen (18:30) came in fourth for Lamar and 31st overall, while teammate Albert Rodriguez (18:42) was close to him, just two spots back in 33rd.
The Katy A team won the girls meet with 35 points. St. Agnes was second with 79.
Lamar placed fourth in the team standings with 167 points and Redskin runner Bria Guerin (12:44) won the girls two-mile race.
The Bellaire girls were ninth with 309 points. Chloe Nguyen (15:03) was the Cards top runner, finishing in 43rd place.
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